A Psalm for Giving Thanks | Goggles & Shoe Covers | 2960 Series Switches | Micromanagers Part 2 | News to Start Your Day
Happy Tuesday!
(November 24th is National Sardines Day…seriously, that is it. Nothing else. Nov 24th doesn’t get much love, well, unless you like sardines.)
Happy Tuesday before Thanksgiving, you guys! I am looking forward to a few days off to spend with family and relaxing. I try to focus in November, and particularly the week of Thanksgiving, on things I am thankful for. At the top of the list for me is my relationship with Jesus. He freely gives me what I need and is my source of strength. One of the ways I walk with Him is by reading the Bible.
Are you familiar with the book of Psalms? It is a collection of poems, songs, praises, thanksgivings and more, with the majority of the collection of 150 being written by King David. Other psalmists include Moses and Solomon.
Here’s an overview of the book if you’re interested: The Book of Psalms
I read this one, Psalm 100, yesterday with the kids. I am grateful for the Lord’s love and faithfulness!
Psalm 100: A Psalm for giving thanks
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
There have been many songs written about this psalm over the years, some just setting the words to music. Here’s a contemporary song based on it by Chris Tomlin if you’d like to listen: Psalm 100 – Chris Tomlin
What are you thankful for today?
Christin
Thanksgiving Recipe: Christmas cookies
Do you bake Christmas cookies at Thanksgiving? Some of my friends have that tradition with their families. It can be fun to kick off the Christmas season with a little fun together in the kitchen. I love all of the recipes I’ve used from Sally’s Baking Addiction. Here’s her Best Sugar Cookie recipe. I’ve personally used this one and love how crisp the edges turn out.
Christmas Sugar Cookies
Cut-out Christmas sugar cookies with crisp edges and soft centers. My icing recipe is so simple, making decorating hassle-free!
Prep Time: 2 hours | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes | Yield: 24 medium cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, slightly softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but makes the flavor outstanding)
- 2 and 1/4 cups (281g) all-purpose flour (spoon and leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Make sure you have allotted enough time (and enough counter space!) to make these cookies. The cookie dough needs to chill, the cookies need to cool completely, and the icing needs 24 hours to completely harden. If enjoying right away and hardened icing isn’t a concern, you’ll only need about 4 hours to make these.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamed and smooth – about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 or 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract and beat on high until fully combine, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Turn the mixer down to low and add about half of the flour mixture, beating until just barely combined. Add the rest of the flour and continue mixing until just combined. If the dough still seems too soft, you can add 1 Tablespoon more flour until it is a better consistency for rolling.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each portion out onto a piece of parchment to about 1/4″ thickness. Stack the pieces (with paper) onto a baking sheet, cover lightly, and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours and up to 2 days. Chilling is mandatory.
- Once chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line 2-3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. The amount of batches will depend on how large/small you cut your cookies. Remove one of the dough pieces from the refrigerator and using a cookie cutter, cut in shapes. Transfer the cut cookie dough to the prepared baking sheet. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting until all is used.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until very lightly colored on top and around the edges. Make sure you rotate the baking sheet halfway through bake time. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing. No need to cover the cookies as the cookies cool.
Today’s Product Updates from Rebecca:
Happy Tuesday! We’re another day closer to some delicious Thanksgiving feasts! One thing I am thankful for is these awesome PPE deals that are still going! We are still offering phenomenal deals on Goggles! We have both Vented Goggles as well as Non-Vented Goggles so we are sure to have something to suit your needs!
We’ve also got Shoe Covers available for purchase! These shoe covers are Blue Polypropylene and are Non-Skid and Anti-Static! We have them in Packs of 10 or Boxes of 300! These have been a hot seller so grab them now! In stock and ready to ship!
***Just a friendly reminder that the CK office and warehouse will be closed Thursday & Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Reminder: Get free shipping on your PPE orders by using coupon code PPESHIP at checkout!
Main Safety Supplies Landing Page: https://www.cablesandkits.com/c/safety-supplies
Today’s product spotlight goes to the Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series 48 Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch, the WS-C2960G-48TC-L. This fully refurbished (48) 10/100/1000 switch includes (4) dual purpose (10/100/1000 or SFP) ports PLUS (4) SFP ports. This 1RU switch features LAN Base software, 32MB of Flash Memory, 64MB DRAM, and it is stackable!
As always, our products ship same day until 8PM and come with our Lifetime Advance Replacement Warranty! It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not! Shop this switch today! And be sure to check out our awesome reviews!
Micromanagers Part 2: Gaining Trust – Gary, our Chief Administrative Steward
In my initial post about micromanaging bosses, I noted that a lack of trust is at the root of micromanagement. You can verify this by looking at your own feelings, and I can almost guarantee that part of your frustration arises from not being trusted. Addressing this lack of trust between you and your micromanaging boss won’t be easy. Of course, you can hang around and hope the boss changes, but remember, there is a high likelihood that the micromanager is blind to the impact of their ways. And, to compound the situation, many micromanagers feel their style is crucial to their success; so attacking micromanagement behavior directly is a losing proposition.
That leaves you three choices: first, continue putting up with micromanaging behaviors from your boss; second, escape by changing jobs (but know you may end up with another micromanaging boss–they’re frustratingly common), or third, start taking steps on your part to build trust in the relationship. But, you might say, “Wait a minute. The problem isn’t with me!” Are you sure?
You want to be trusted, but are you trustworthy? Do you consistently behave in ways that inspire others to trust you? If you’re still reading, let’s talk about how to build trust in a relationship. It might be easier for you to think about the attributes of people you trust.
Be reliable. Are you on time to appointments and meetings? Do you deliver assigned tasks on or before they’re due? Do you make and keep your commitments? Those repeated acts of follow-through engender trust from your boss.
Be clear. This goes both ways. Are you prone to empty rhetoric, insincere comments, or exaggerated talk? Do you consistently hedge your bets or make empty declarations full of weasel words? If this describes you, it is no wonder the boss doesn’t trust you. Make your positions clear. Speak plainly so that your commitments are certain and specific. On the flip side, proactively seek clarity from your boss; especially when it comes to his/her expectations. When the boss is confident you know what is expected, they can more readily trust you.
Communicate often. Humans, as a rule, don’t like to be left in the dark. We don’t think positive thoughts when we don’t know what’s going on. If your boss is constantly asking for status updates, maybe it’s because you do not volunteer information. Withholding information can be a natural defense mechanism with a micromanaging boss, but if your boss already doesn’t trust you, then it’s completely counterproductive. Your boss should know what you’re working on and receive regular updates on that work. Even if your boss doesn’t require it, submit weekly reports on the same day each week with your top five priorities for the coming week and status updates on your top five priorities for this week. Lest you feel like this is pandering to the micromanager’s way, reporting on your own work is part of your professional obligation. Around CablesAndKits, I repeated say, “The work isn’t finished until you’ve reported on it to those impacted by it.” I predict that your boss will love your weekly updates. But, you will also benefit. This discipline will make you more focused and, therefore, more productive, because no one likes to report “no progress” multiple weeks in a row.
I would hope those proactive new behaviors on your part may be enough to trigger a reduction in micromanaging behaviors by your boss. If not, here’s what I suggest as a next step.
One of our core values at CablesAnd Kits is “make it about relationship.” And, trust (or the lack of it) is definitely relational. So, let’s lean into the relationship with your boss and make it personal.
What does that mean? Normally in business, we’re advised to not make it personal, but hear me out. I’d start a conversation with your boss like this… “A while back, I was frustrated, because I didn’t feel like you trusted me. So, I decided to first work on making myself more trustworthy by focusing on becoming more reliable, making a purposeful effort to communicate more clearly, and share information with you more frequently. I wanted you to know that you could count on me to honor my commitments and in the interim not have to wonder where things stood on anything I had committed to deliver. However, I’m still sensing from things you say and do, that I haven’t earned your trust. I’d like your insights on what I’m not seeing or doing.”
By choosing to describe how something affects us, two positive effects occur. First, by not directly attacking the offending behavior, we don’t force the micromanaging to reflexively adopt a defensive posture. And, second, we paint a picture that is difficult to challenge, because it is our perspective. Of course, there are still relationally-challenged managers who are prone to say, “You shouldn’t feel that way,” but they tend to be rare.
If your boss asks for specifics, I recommend that Feedback Model taught Mark Horstman at Manager Tools.
- Step 1 (Ask): May I share something with you?
- Step 2 (Describe specific behavior): When you [describe the behavior]
- Step 3 (Describe behavior impact): It makes me feel like you don’t trust me to do my job and leaves me frustrated
- Step 4: (Discuss next steps): What can we do to build greater trust between us?
If you find yourself working for a micromanaging boss, I trust (pun intended) these simple steps will help you build greater trust in your ability to do your job. If you’re the boss, ask yourself whether you are a micromanager. Part 3 in this series addresses how you, as the boss, can deal with your own micromanaging tendencies.
News to Start Your Day With:
- There has been right at 59,684,700 cases worldwide, with 41,289,800 people who have recovered, with 1,405,197 deaths | 12,781,000 cases in the US with over 7,553,400 people have recovered, with 263,799 deaths.
- Workers at Walmart, Amazon, Kroger and other major retailers say their employers should reinstate hazard pay and strengthen safety protocols ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.
- Continuing with the history of Thanksgiving being the biggest travel time of the year, more than 3 million people passed through TSA checkpoints in the past three days, making the lead-up to Thanksgiving the busiest travel period since March.
- Malaysian manufacturer Top Glove, the world’s largest producer of medical gloves, is preparing to close more than half of its factories (28) following a coronavirus outbreak in which almost 2,500 employees tested positive for the infection, authorities confirmed Monday.
- After weeks of delay, General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy on Monday told Biden the Trump administration is making federal resources available for his transition to the White House. However, the president reiterated his narrative about a “corrupt election,” saying he’ll “never concede to fake ballots.” He also said his legal challenges to the Nov. 3 election were “moving full speed ahead.”
- Elon Musk is now the world’s second richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, after overtaking Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates. Musk saw his net worth rise by $7.2 billion to $128 billion on Monday. The only person ahead of Musk now is Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, who took the top spot from Gates in 2017 and has stayed there since.
- Amazon is pushing holiday shoppers to get their orders delivered to some of its brick-and-mortar retail locations. The company said it will help shoppers keep their “holiday season spoiler free.” But it’s likely to help Amazon save crucial last-mile delivery capacity, as it stares down a potential logistics crunch fueled by record online shopping this year.
- The U.K. government announced that there will be a new quarantine policy from December 15. UK will be cutting its policy to 5 days.The catch? – Travellers will have to pay for their own test.